1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates an accessory for use with a muzzle loaded firearm. More particularly, the invention relates to a charging device for holding all necessary firing components and simultaneously inserting in a muzzle loading rifle of any size and caliber a premeasured powder charge and ball rapidly and expeditiously and then seating the ball.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various structures are known in the prior art for facilitating muzzle loading as well as shell loading. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 108,359, issued Oct. 18, 1870, to Kahn, discloses a powder holding device to measure the charge and regulate the quantity of powder for guns, rifles, pistols, and other weapons of a similar nature. U.S. Pat. No. 11,174, issued June 27, 1854, to Peavey, discloses a cylinder with several chambers, one of which fits on a muzzle of a barrel, and can discharge a bullet and loose powder into the muzzle of the barrel. The device is complicated by the plurality of moving parts, the necessity for adjustment, and has the drawback of bulkiness as well as difficulty of assembly and operation under field hunting conditions. U.S. Pat. No. 2,809,550, issued Oct. 15, 1957, to Lange, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,854,881, issued Oct. 7, 1958, to Craft, show devices for loading shotgun shells, making no disclosure of utility for muzzle loading rifles. U.S. Pat. No. 183,902, issued Oct. 31, 1876, to Camp, also relates to loading of shotgun cartridges, rather than loading of a firearm itself through the barrel.
A problem associated with use of muzzle loading rifles in game hunting is the time required to reload under actual field conditions of use. A period typically of one to two minutes is required to assemble all the necessary items carried by the hunter and all components are individually inserted in the muzzle for charging with a ramrod for reloading. Moreover, certain prior art devices to facilitate the loading are not easily adaptable to muzzle loading rifles having barrels varying in shape and size. Typically, the caliber of muzzle loading rifles can vary through the range of 36 to 58 caliber.